


The Kingslayer, the Dowager Queen and the Last Dragon

by TinaMuller



Series: The Kingslayer after the Long Night [2]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Complete, F/M, Jaime and Dany talk some more, One-Shot, after the long night, tales of the past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 15:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18720274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TinaMuller/pseuds/TinaMuller
Summary: Following Daenerys' wish to tell her a little bit more of her mother and her eldest brother, Ser Jaime Lannister recalls some memories from his time as a Kingsguard for King Aerys II Targaryen.Second work in the series, you should read the first one to get a general direction of their conversation before.





	The Kingslayer, the Dowager Queen and the Last Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> As before, I own nothing, everything belongs to George R.R. Martin and by extension to HBO.
> 
> I hadn't originally planned to write this conversation, but a reader asked for it and I felt I wanted to make it happen then.
> 
> So here we are, Jaime recalling some memories and sharing them with Daenerys Stormborn.

Jaime was surprised by this. Whatever he had expected the Dragon Queen wanted him to do, it was certainly not sitting down and simply talking about her long dead family members. “Of course, Your Grace, it would be my pleasure.” There was not a hint of snark or sarcasm in his voice; he was truly pleased that of all the duties she could have asked of him, this was her demand - a demand that didn’t give him a headache or made him feel sick when he thought about it. “So unlike most other demands I ever received”, the Lannister mused and found himself smiling slightly. “Gods, if Brienne was here to see me smiling at the Dragon Queen..:”

He leaned back, watching the flames dance in front of his green eyes, wondering where to begin. “Maybe I should start slightly earlier, before I met either of them, if that is alright.” Tyrion was the charismatic and clever Lannister, his sister was the great liar. Jaime was neither, despite people calling him an oathbreaker behind his back. “Although”, he thought, “this Queen will likely not say so, and neither would Brienne.”

“I was born slightly after my twin sister, Cersei, the firstborn son of Tywin and Joanna Lannister. While my father was glad he had a male heir, I suppose I was a disappointment for him: All his political meddling and the discussions with the high lords…that life was the never one for me.” His eyes studied Daenerys Stormborn, who didn’t seem to mind his detour. Unexpectedly, his heart clenched, as he felt reminded of Rhaella, who was always willing to listen to anyone’s problems, too; listening first and then judging. “I was never good at listening, or sitting still, or something like that. I wanted to be a knight, more than anything in the world, especially after seeing the Kingsguard for the first time.”

Memories played out in front of him and he sighed. “I remember what you said about your Queensguard, and I understand your reasoning to rather have trusted military advisors than someone following you around just for the fuck of it, like Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard. But back then, when I was a boy, it was a different time. Being a knight held meaning back then.” A deep breath followed, and he recalled how he had knighted Brienne. Aye, she would have fit right in, being brave and honourable and willing to do anything to defend the weak.

“Ser Gerold Hightower, the White Bull, led the Kingsguard, a seasoned commander and a great fighter. Ser Barristan Selmy, the Bold, who was a refined fighter. And, of course, Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning.” By the Gods, he missed Ser Arthur, the best swordsman he had ever seen – although Rhaegar was his equal in many ways. “I was actually knighted by Ser Arthur Dayne himself, after I fought against a dangerous criminal and stopped him long enough so Ser Arthur could slay him.” What a different time that had been, the happiest day in his entire life, when his idol asked him to kneel down, only so he could be knighted.

“My father played the game though, a game you are likely familiar with,” he continued, looking into the violet eyes that studied him carefully. “He had hoped that my sister would be the Crown princess, and that I would marry Lysa Tully to secure the support of Riverrun.” Even after all this time, his disgust was evident when he mentioned her name. While he should have never touched his sister, even after all he had been through, the thought of Lysa filled him with disgust. Judging by the look of the Queen, she seemed to be not a huge supporter of arranged marriages either.

“But Tywin was not the only Lannister that played the game. My sister did, too, and I allowed her to manipulate me. She knew of my desire to live as a knight and of my…lacking interest in Casterly Rock. While she detests our younger brother Tyrion, I didn’t mind having him hold Casterly Rock, he would do a better job of that than I ever could.” Once more, something crossed his mind, something Brienne had mentioned to him. “I think you are far more honest than you give yourself credit for”, she had told him, studying him solemnly. She was right, of course, he was a bad liar, and he supposed that was why his father only ever saw him as a pawn in his game and never as a player in his own right.

“Let me guess, she convinced you to take the white?” Daenerys asked, pouring herself a cup of water. Catching her eye and seeing her nod, he took the flask and filled a cup for himself, one Jaime slowly emptied. “Yes, she did. She said that I would be near her and that a life as a Kingsguard would certainly be better than one spend with Lysa Tully. King Aerys was overjoyed, because that meant he could hold me as a hostage, ensuring that my father would stay far away. So here I was, not even eighteen namesdays old, staying in King’s Landing, far away from my family, all alone.”

While his Kingsguard brothers surely treated him with respect, he had never been liked at court in general, Tywin Lannister’s son, a lion in the capital. But he had been a toothless and clawless lion for a long time, until Jaime had ended the Mad King. Surprisingly enough, something akin to understanding and even a tiny bit of pity appeared in the Dragon Queen’s eyes. Suddenly, he remembered how Robert’s spies told them that her brother had sold her off to a Dothraki khal, only for the possibility of having an army to retake the Iron Throne one day. She would know a lot more about being alone in a hostile environment than he did.

“But I was not alone, not really. Queen Rhaella was there, always willing to listen if you needed her. Your brother Viserys was nearing his forth namesday at this point and she tried to shelter him as much as she could from Aerys and his madness. Of course, that didn’t always work, but most of the time she did succeed. I wasn’t the only one whose problems she listened to, she took time for everyone, the highborn and the common folk.” No matter the plea, she would listen and reply gently. Of course, her influence was limited by Aerys and his madness, but she had been a clever player and used her opportunities very well.

“Her relationship with Aerys had always been doomed, they weren’t even close as siblings and their marriage was forced by their father, King Jaehaerys II, who believed that The Prince who was Promised would be born in their line. He was right about that, I suppose.” While the Dragon Queen hadn’t slayed the Night King herself, she had led her armies to war and was crucial in giving Arya Stark the time to get to the Godswood. “But what he lacked in showing love towards here…she was beloved by the people.” 

He watched as a warm smile spread on Daenerys’ face, hearing that. From what he had seen so far, she was the same with her people, who had followed her all the way from Essos. The Northerners might hate her all they wanted, but they were Northerners and hated everyone who was not one of them anyway. “During your father’s reign and my father’s time as Hand of the King, the treasury was full, and when she was careful around Aerys, she could take some money from it. Queen Rhaella would go to the poorest of the poor in King's Landing, to Flea Bottom, and make sure the people had at least some bread to eat.”

Nobody ever told Aerys about this, though, who might have been treated her even worse than he already did, simply for spending money on the poor. What he never knew, though, was that the common folk would have likely risen up against him even before Robert’s Rebellion, if not for the Queen’s kindness and proof that the Targaryens did care about their subjects. “There were times when she even visited some orphanages, reading the children stories about the Targaryens of old, of Aegon the Conqueror and his sister wives; of Jaehaerys and the Good Queen Alysanne; of Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. I often went with her as her personal guard, it was as if she knew that I would find her voice and presence just as soothing as the little children.” Normally, he would have rather given his remaining hand than admitting that, but if one person deserved the truth about his relationship with the Dowager Queen, it was her only daughter.

And still, he had never been able to protect the Queen from the monster she was married to… “Did she ever need your sword, Ser Jaime?” No doubt, as a woman who grew up running away from assassins at every corner, it was a valid question. “No. People attempted to steal bread once or twice, but nobody ever dared to lay a finger on Queen Rhaella. I think she was actually safer in the streets, surrounded by the commonerts than in the Red Keep…” Oh, how he wanted to find a way to bring Aerys back to life only so he could kill him again for dishonouring his wife.

Not wanting to bring up more bad memories in their first real discussion, he decided to move the topic to her eldest son instead. “Now, Prince Rhaegar always felt a bit more detached than Queen Rhaella. He was a brilliant swordsman, but…” With a small laugh, Daenerys finished his sentence. “But he preferred to sing. Ser Barristan Selmy told me this once.” Now it was his turn to be stunned. “You met Ser Barristan? Where? When?” But even before he had finished asking her, he knew that he was likely dead by now. He hadn’t been with her during the Dragonpit Summit and he hadn’t fought during the Long Night either.

“He found me when I had travelled to Astapor.” While he was certainly not as well-read as his younger brother, Jaime had received a formal education by a Maester. “Forgive me, but this is half a world away from here.” “Indeed. But where else could I have found myself an army, Ser Jaime? The Unsullied – although heavily diminished, as much as that pains me – have always been the best infantry in the known world.” Truth be told, he hadn’t given her army much of a thought, with the battle for the Dawn, but now that she mentioned it, he would like to hear more about her time in Essos. Perhaps he could ask around later. “We lost Ser Barristan, though, when he bravely fought to save Grey Worm from the Sons of the Harpy in Mereen.” By the Gods, what had this woman been up to while they fought the War of the Five Kings here in Westeros? It wasn’t his place to ask, though, at least not tonight, so he turned his thoughts back to Rhaegar.

“Yes, Rhaegar could sing like no other man in the Realm. He played the harp, too, and I suppose what they say of him is true: Most women in the Realm wanted to marry him and most men wanted to be him. He was a scholar, none the less, reading ancient Valyrian poetry, detailed reports of journeys to the far East, anything he could find. Watching him and Ser Arthur Dayne spar…I think the only reason why Arthur did have a slight edge was Dawn, the ancestral blade of House Dayne. If Rhaeger would have had either Blackfyre or Dark Sister, though, who knew how much better he could have been.”

“He was somewhat melancholic, though, his indigo eyes always searching the horizon for things nobody else saw. Even after he married Elia, he often disappeared without a word, disguising himself, taking his harp with him, going back to Summerhall.” Jaime would forever be grateful, though, that he hadn’t been Rhaegar’s personal guard, he had been a nightmare for all of the Kingsguard’s security.

“It had burned down the night he was born, in an insane attempt to wake dragons…but I think he considered the ruins as something special, the place he truly belonged. Neither the Red Keep nor Dragonstone ever felt like home to the Last Dragon. Not that we should call him that anymore, because his younger sister brought the dragons back.” A slow nod was uttered by the Dragon Queen, maybe she recalled finally setting foot on Dragonstone, where she had been born during the worst storm in human memory.

Taking another sip of water, Jaime sighed. “He was the best hope for Westeros, he was a just man, who never minded associating himself with the commoners and still knew how to rally the highborn to his course. Your mother taught him as much and he valued her opinion greatly. While Aerys will always be a stain on your family name, people will always remember both of them with fondness, even despite the Rebellion and the kidnapping of Lyanna Stark.” There was little he could say about said rebellion, he had missed the battle of the Trident, holed up in the Red Keep with Aerys.

It had been a pleasant atmosphere, far more pleasant than he had suspected when the Dragon Queen had called for him earlier. They would talk more, later, of that he was certain now, during their journey south. But with the silence came back his need to go and find Brienne – hopefully not in the presence of that Wildling. A sudden change in Daenerys’ posture brought him back to the present, though.

For the first time, something close to vulnerability showed in the Valyrian featured that followed every movement of his lips. “Do you think…they would have liked me?” Her voice sounded unsure of herself for the very first time, and it reminded him of his younger brother who had once asked something similar about their mother. It was a dangerous question, of course, because she wanted an honest answer. But if he answered honestly, he had nothing to fear, he knew that by now. “Queen Rhaella would have loved to see you growing up into the strong, beautiful woman you are now, Your Grace. And I can only imagine all the deep conversations you and Rhaegar would have had about the good of the Realm. I am very sure that he would have taken your opinion seriously.”

Daring to go even further, he allowed himself to show a bit of his own deeper thoughts, ones that he usually only voiced to Brienne and sometimes to Tyrion. “When I came up here, I wanted to fight for the living. But I also wanted to restore whatever was left of our family name and my honour. You already did that, Your Grace. No matter what will happen when we march South, you will be remembered as more than just the Mad King’s daughter. You have already lived up to the image of the Targaryens of old.” It was more than simple flattery and he was sure she wouldn’t have believed him anyway if he simply intended to be nice and pleasant – besides the fact that he was rarely nice and pleasant. “You, Queen Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, have not only brought dragons with you, or an army. You have brought us hope.”

**Author's Note:**

> Currently I plan to write two more one-shots for this series, one where Jaime (and perhaps Dany, too) meet Bran; the other one when Jaime finally gets to talk with Brienne.
> 
> I hope you liked this one, too! :)


End file.
